AN ISLAND HURRICANE.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXII, Issue 52, 2 March 1901, Page 6

AN ISLAND HURRICANE.

The hurricane which swept over New Caledonia last month, driving several ] deep-sea vessels ashor-, and playing; havoc with the nickel company's property.; extended over the New Hebrides Group. j News by the French mail steamer Armaria: Btenced on Janu ry -':. and lasted r;ght: through the next day. During that limit blew with terrific fury, the squads up-. rooting trees, destroying plantations, and: wrecking houses. A correspondent a: the; group writes: "The scene at the various | plantations is j':st one or utter devasta-; Hon." The total loss is estimated at l."0 '."/>! francs. Captain Gaspard, who was cruis-j ing off the northern part of the g cup in the Marie Henry, fell in with the storr;* on the 2'Jth, and described it as one frightful severity. One vessel was wrecked in the hurricane. The hulk Jeanette. owned by the French. Company, was driven ashore at Port Vila. There was noj loss of life. The storm destroyed a yuan- : tity of maize, ready for shipment to Syd-j ney. Trade generally suffered by the storm, so much so indeed tnat a tracer. says four months must elapse before the inlands can recover themselves. It ia feared that the storm nas also beenj felt In the southern part of the group.; and news from that quarter Is anxiously i -waited. Passengers by the Armand Behic stated: that the storm was one of the worst ere- j perienced there. It swept along the coast; and through the interior. bridges i and tele-graph lines and demolishing! house property. Considerable damage was, done at Tcnio, Kanaona, and Hyenghene. The French ship Emilt- Galline Was driv-j en ashore, and is high and dry. To re- j float her will be a difficult task, as it will ', require a channel 400 metres long. The; hulk Hero was also driven ashore. The ■ French barque Ville dv Havre wa3 also i stranded in the hurricane.